1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to bookmarks, specifically to an enhanced bookmark with adaptable functions.
2. Prior Art
Bookmarks are used for marking pages of interest in books; the simplest are elongated cards or strings that are held between two pages. However, these types of bookmarks merely place an object between two leaves of a book. As a result, readers can forget exactly where they left off in their reading or what they marked, so that they have to search the pages for the information or the last passage they read. Furthermore, these bookmarks can easily fall out from between the pages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,727 to Martin, Jr. (1986) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,799 to Turetsky (1989) show bookmarks with an adhesive head for sticking to the spine or cover of a book, and a flexible tail extending from the head for disposing between any two selected pages of the book. However, they also cannot mark a specific piece of information, or even a specific page.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,665 to Carlin (1990) shows a bookmark with an indicator slidably disposed on an elongated card. The indicator can be slid along the card to indicate a particular line of interest on a page. However, it cannot mark a particular word or picture, and it can easily fall out of the book.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,358 to Hanson, Jr. (1971) and Japanese published patent application WO 81/02867 to Furukawa (1981) show adhesive bookmarks with arrows or indicators for attachment next to a line of interest. Several can be used for marking different locations in a book. Hanson's device includes a match-book-like container that houses several bookmarks that can be individually removed and used. However, both Hanson's and Furukawa's bookmarks are very small, so that if they are attached to the inner members of a page, they will not extend outside of the book. When the book is closed, they will no longer be visible, and the reader will not be able to easily find the pages they marked. They are also separate from each other, so that they can be easily misplaced after being removed.
Published U.K. patent application Nr 2, 150,077 of Rocchelli (1984) shows a bookmark with a clip for attachment to the spine or cover of a book. Several tails extend from the clip; each tail includes a marker slidably attached thereon for marking a particular line of interest. Each tail can be positioned between a different pair of pages. However, the markers cannot indicate which page in each pair the reader desires to mark.
These and all other prior art bookmarks are either prone to falling out of a book, or cannot indicate which of the two pages they mark contains the information of interest. Those that can indicate specific lines may be unable to mark the page because they are sometimes hidden when the book is closed.